Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
He stayed up all night looking at the chart after a long time. And 6 AM.
"It's over."
The US stock market closed. There was only one reason he waited for the regular session to close.
[Previous Day : 146.27]
The price of Core Wave closed lower than the previous day.
"It really fell."
How should he accept this? He fell into thought for a moment but soon came to an answer.
"I need to check a few more times. Because once could be a coincidence."
He had to approach carefully. Investing without sufficient checks on whether this ability was real or not was dangerous. But he had no intention of just leaving it alone.
If this ability is what I expect, I can obtain enormous wealth.
It could be an opportunity to gain wealth greater than 170 billion won.
A few days later. A change occurred in the chart.
[Previous Day : 139.98]
The decline of Core Wave, which had been continuing, narrowed and finally turned into a rise.
"And this light visible to my eyes changed too."
From blue to red. It changed as if to inform him that the closing price would end in a rise. He switched programs and ran Excel. The recent prices of Core Wave were recorded there. Today's price was also already marked.
"When gathering data for 5 days, this ability seems to show the next day's closing price?"
Gang-hyeon organized only the certain things.
2. Only Core Wave has been confirmed until today.
3. The hit rate was 100 percent.
The most important thing was the third. 100 percent hit rate. This becomes a great power for a trader.
"If I can produce a 100 percent win rate, even if I only make 1 percent profit a day, I can record a return of about 37 times the seed money after 1 year."
If it's 2 percent, 1,377 times. If it's 3 percent, 48,500 times. Even investing with 1 million won, if he makes 3 percent profit, it becomes 48.5 billion won after 1 year. This is the magic of compound interest.
"I need to find out if this ability applies to other stocks as well, and if it only acts on stocks, but..."
One thing was certain.
"I've got my hands on a ridiculous ability."
He reached out and brought an energy drink to his mouth. His mind, which was blurry from fatigue, became clear. As his brain rotated quickly, Gang-hyeon recalled his original plan.
"I thought about living comfortably with the 170 billion won I got."
170 billion. An astronomical amount. It was also enough money to live on without working in the future. He could live the rest of his life traveling. Things he wanted to do, eat, wear, etc. He could do everything. So at first, he thought about retirement.
"But with an ability like this, the story changes."
It wasn't greed. He gained the ability to win in the market. He thought letting this ability rot would be the truly foolish thing.
"I need to adjust my portfolio."
The desire to challenge the market he had lost to again arose.
Gang-hyeon visited a department store after a long time. And he entered the Hermes store. Soon, an employee came and asked him politely.
"Customer, is there a particular item you are looking for?"
"I came to look for a bag to gift to my mother. Is there any product available for immediate purchase today?"
"How old is your mother?"
"She is in her 60s."
"I will check for products suitable for a woman of that age group."
The employee checked something for a moment, then.
"Just in time, there is exactly one left in stock. Shall I show you?"
"Yes. Please show me."
The employee, asking for his patience, disappeared somewhere and returned. In her hand was a navy-colored tote bag. The subtle color was pleasing, and the design was neat, so it seemed suitable for his mother to carry without burden.
"It's good. I'll take this."
"Understood. Then I will prepare it right away."
Watching the employee politely packaging the bag, a smile formed on Gang-hyeon's face.
In the past, I would have looked at the price tag first.
This time, far from looking at the price tag, he didn't even ask.
Money is good after all.
The cash immediately available was over 200 million won. It was the sum of the money he originally had and the disposal of 1 Bitcoin. Plus, there were 999 Bitcoins in his coin wallet. Buying a bag like this was now as easy as breathing.
"Packing is complete. How would you like to pay?"
"Please use this."
"Do you need installments?"
"No. One lump sum, please."
She didn't ask how many months, but if he needed installments. The employee also seemed to have caught on to some extent from his attitude. Well, to work in a place like this, quick wits must be the first requirement.
"Payment is complete. Thank you for using our store. If you have any inquiries in the future, please contact this number. We will guide you kindly."
The employee handed over a business card herself. Looking now, she wasn't a regular employee but someone who held the role of store manager. When he bowed his head in response to the pleasant service and was leaving the store.
"Gang-hyeon?"
Fate was truly cruel. In this vast Seoul, among so many people, he ran into the person he wanted to meet the least.
"Long time no see."
"Yeah. What brings you here... Ah, did you come to buy a bag?"
Han So-ye, seeing the shopping bag in his hand, changed her tone.
"You must have found a new woman? But isn't Hermes too excessive for a woman you've only met for about a month? You don't even have a job anymore."
It was a blatant provocation. In the past, he would have reacted to every single word like that. But for some reason, not now. His heart was calm, and no emotional change occurred even looking at So-ye. He just said what came to mind right now.
"We aren't close enough to care about such parts, are we? You seem to have come shopping too. Shop well, and let's not run into each other again."
With those words, he moved his steps. At the sight of Gang-hyeon moving without a shred of hesitation, the face of So-ye, left alone, was dyed with absurdity.
"Ha!"
Only a scoff came out.
What is that relaxed attitude?
Did he win the lottery or something?
Such a thought occurred naturally. At that moment, a presence was felt from behind.
"Customer? May I help you with guidance?"
The manager who had just served Gang-hyeon asked So-ye politely with courtesy. But So-ye, already annoyed, took her anger out on her.
"Do you not know me?"
"I know you, Madam."
"Then show me the item that you said arrived."
"Yes. I will guide you this way."
To Yang Hyun-ju, the manager of the Hermes Gangnam Galleria branch walking ahead, So-ye asked nervously.
"The man who just left. What model did he buy?"
"I am sorry, but I cannot inform you of the model the customer purchased. I ask for your understanding."
"You can't even tell me that much?"
"I am sorry."
"Then you can tell me the price, right?"
"I am sorry."
Yang Hyun-ju's polite attitude made So-ye's insides burn even more. Her attitude became rougher, and annoyance was embedded in her tone. Watching that appearance, Yang Hyun-ju thought.
The male customer who just left was extremely classy. How did he hang out with a person like this?
Working in a luxury store, one meets customers with various personalities and fortunes. Among them, the male customer just now had a class in the top tier. Judging by his actions, it was clear that his fortune also matched that class.
There is a tendency for class to rise as wealth increases.
On the other hand, the woman in front? She couldn't be certain, but most women who were nouveau riche or suddenly rose in status by meeting a man well showed this kind of behavior.
"He meets another woman so soon when it hasn't been long since he divorced me?"
She heard muttering in a small voice from behind. It was the behavior of a customer who didn't even care that she could hear. Actually, this case was common. People who thought of store staff as trees on the street talked about their shameful secrets as if it were nothing. Thanks to that, she could roughly grasp the relationship between the two. And she came to think one thing.
He escaped well.
Gang-hyeon arrived at his mother's house in Yeongjong, Incheon.
"Son, welcome."
"I'm here. Please take this."
"No, why did you buy things like this? Oh my, oh my, what is this?"
Gang-hyeon handed over a bundle of gifts he was holding. There were fruits and Hanwoo beef, but what his mother reacted to first was the Hermes shopping bag.
"Is this a bag?"
"Yes. I bought it at Hermes. I don't know if you'll like it."
"Oh my... this expensive thing."
Even if she aged and became a mother of a child, a mother was eventually a woman. Even if she said with her mouth that she wasn't interested in luxury goods, she couldn't help but be happy if bought for her. The image of his mother rejoicing at the beautiful appearance of the bag coming out of the high-class packaging was a girl itself.
"Oh right, I shouldn't be doing this. What about rice? You haven't eaten yet, right?"
"Yes. I wanted to eat the rice Mom makes, so I haven't eaten a single meal."
"Sit and rest for a moment. I'll set it up quickly!"
"Please take your time."
His mother carefully enshrined the bag on the living room table like an ancestral tablet and hurriedly went into the kitchen. Soon, a delicious smell wafted from the kitchen, and sounds pleased his ears. After a short time passed, he went to sit at the table at his mother's call.
"It's a feast."
"Eat a lot. You probably haven't been able to eat home-cooked meals lately."
"Still, the sister-in-law makes side dishes and brings them over every time."
"Gwang-ho's wife?"
"Yes. Since the divorce, Gwang-ho comes to the house once a week."
"You two really have had good brotherly love since you were young. Like, brothers."
Brothers. It was a fitting expression. He and Gwang-ho didn't share blood, but they were like brothers. Since both were only children, they became even closer.
"Gwang-ho asked me to say hello to Mom too. He said he misses the Pork Belly Kimchi Stew Mom makes?"
"Hoho, really? Come to think of it, he loved the Pork Belly Kimchi Stew I made so much since he was young. Tell him to come play sometime."
"Next time I come, I'll come with him."
"Definitely come together."
They finished the meal sharing this and that story. While waiting in the living room, his mother peeled fruits and brought them. As he ate fruit for dessert, his mother asked.
"Originally, when you came, I was going to ask you to stay for a while before going. seeing your face, I don't think I need to do that."
"Really?"
"Yes. Actually, I worried a lot. Divorce isn't easy. For me, since I had you, and with things happening with your dad and being busy working, I didn't really know the shock of divorce."
It was when he was in the first year of middle school that his parents divorced. To express the feeling at the time, there wasn't really a shock. Their relationship wasn't good originally, and they lived separately before the divorce. It felt like what was coming had come.
"But it's not the same for you, son. Plus, with the company turning out like that, I thought the shock would be greater. So I worried. But seeing your face, it was a needless worry."
"That's right. I am very okay right now. You don't have to worry too much."
"Okay, then it's done."
His mother held his hand. His mother's hand, held after a long time, felt rough and wrinkled. Then he felt a lukewarm liquid falling on the back of his hand. Surprised, he looked at his mother, and her head was bowed. Seeing her shoulders shaking, he asked in surprise.
"Are you crying?"
"...I'm sorry. Because I made you experience such things when you were young, you ended up like this too."
His heart ached at the sight of his mother spitting out words she had kept in her heart. That wasn't it. Those memories of childhood were nothing. His mother was living like a sinner.
"No, Mom. It was just because So-ye and I didn't match. Never think like that."
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
His mother's apology continued for a long time. Watching that appearance, Gang-hyeon pledged in his heart.
I have to become more successful. So that Mother worries less.
He had to show her living better than now. That was filial piety and the way for his mother.
A few days later. Gang-hyeon was waiting for someone at a restaurant in Cheongdam. While waiting for a moment in the room reserved for a quiet meal, the outside became noisy, and soon the door opened and Gwang-ho entered.
"Why did you book such an expensive place?"
"Gang-hyeon, long time no see!"
Today Gwang-ho wasn't alone. His wife, Kim A-yeon, was also with him.
"It's my treat after a long time. I called you to eat deliciously."
Saying that, he looked at Gwang-ho. Perhaps sensing a different gaze than usual, Gwang-ho asked with an indifferent face.
"Is this the first time you've seen a handsome face?"
"What are you saying, you bear-looking guy."
The face wasn't the important thing.
Why is a red light coming from that guy's body?
Clearly, the red light seen in Core Wave was wrapping around Gwang-ho's body. Just like the aura emitted when a Super Saiyan transforms.
It's glowing even more intensely. Is it Super Saiyan 2?
If the light emitted when looking at the stock was Super Saiyan 1, the light coming from Gwang-ho's body now was shining brightly like Super Saiyan 2.
Red light means rise, blue light means fall. If this applies exactly to people too, does it mean the guy's assets or ability will rise?
With the current data, he could infer this much.
And seeing that the light shines more intensely, does it mean that much higher of a rise?
Although it was a short time, Gang-hyeon organized the situation based on the data he had. In the meantime, Gwang-ho, who was looking at the menu, said.
"Is it okay to eat expensive stuff?"
"Huh? Yeah. Order whatever you want."
"Okay! Then please give us tenderloin first, and prepare shrimp meat and rib meat too. Honey, you're going to eat cold noodles, right?"
A smirk came out at the sight of Gwang-ho ordering without hesitation. Indeed, being with this guy put his mind at ease.
Let's eat first and think.
It's a meal with grateful people.
Focusing on this seat was the priority now.
After the meal, he came out to smoke with Gwang-ho. He didn't smoke often, but occasionally he held a cigarette in his mouth to relieve stress.
When he lit the cigarette with a lighter, Gwang-ho spoke.
"You look good? Until a while ago, you looked like you were dying."
"I have to get my act together now. There's a lot to do in the future."
"A lot to do?"
At Gwang-ho's question, he inhaled the smoke and exhaled.
"Huu~"
And answered without hesitation.
"I'm going to set up a company."
Gwang-ho's eyes widened.
(End of Chapter)
— Translated by Prime Works —